Bell
Thomas Mears II
Category
Metalwork
Date
1824
Materials
Bell metal, softwood, copper
Measurements
1500 x 3000 x 1250 mm
Place of origin
Whitechapel
Order this imageCollection
Charlecote Park, Warwickshire
NT 534224
Summary
A set of five bells (four small quarter chime bells and a larger hour bell) for the turret clock, but currently disused. The clock – made by Thwaites & Co of Clerkenwell but bearing the name of James Tupman of Bloomsbury – was supplied to Charlecote in 1824. It was installed as part of improvements carried out for George Lucy. Tupman’s bill for the clock and bells (£385.2.7.) survives among the Lucy family papers and the clock is also documented in the Thwaites & Reed archives. The total weight of the bells is 502kg (9cwt 3rs 14lbs) and the hour bell weighs 241kg (4¾ cwt). The bells were all cast in 1824 by Thomas Mears II of Whitechapel. They are hung “dead” as a chime in a softwood framework on the roof of the gatehouse. The clock is in the SE turret nearby and the wire linkages to the clock hammers run along the channel below the Eastern parapet of the gatehouse.
Makers and roles
Thomas Mears II, founder